Do You Believe In Love After Life After Life After Life?
by CaptainJackCastiel
Summary: Captain Jack Harkness and Castiel are in a relationship, but something major is about to test it. Will they be able to spend eternity together? Or is this the end? I don't want to say too much...but someone dies. Or do they? That's immortality for you. This is my first fanfiction so be easy on me. Exciting, tense, sad and cute. Hope you enjoy. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there! Thank you for deciding to read this! I hope you like it. It is my first, so very excited! I apologise if anything is inaccurate. I do not own anything, it all goes to the creators of Supernatural and Torchwood and Doctor Who, to whom I am greatly thankful to for creating!**

Chapter 1

The rain was violently shaken off of his trench coat as Castiel struggled against the two larger, emotionless men restraining him. No matter how much he tried they didn't flinch, just standing and staring, letting the raindrops gracefully make their way down their faces. He stopped when the door crashed open and Captain Jack Harkness was thrown out, landing among the gravel and lying very still face down in a puddle. Cas's face dropped. He lent forward and yelled out his friend's name with intense power and emotion. He didn't fear for Jack's life as knew about his immortality, but he still hated seeing those he loves suffer. He then changed to absolute fury at the suffering in front of him and began wrestling the men again with even more force. Jack stirred, he was alive at least, as the man they have been hunting strolled purposely from the building with two sidekicks following close behind. Harkness had just managed to painfully get onto all fours, any other time Castiel would have admired his fine behind but he was too busy willing Jack to get back up and glaring with his beady eyes at the dark figure approaching his partner. Once he reached the weak kneeling Jack he kicked him in the stomach, sending him back down and rolling through the mud. Now Castiel could see the gorgeous bloody face of the spluttering man he loved.

After he had cleared the blood from is throat he began to laugh weakly and faintly said, "is that all you've got?" mocking him as he grinned and tried to roll back over.

Before he made it up again the two sidekicks had grabbed Jack's arms and hauled him up; he winced at the abrupt movement to his damaged body and the tightness of the grip, they weren't letting him go anytime soon. The immortal looked over blindly to his angel, squinting as a mix of blood and rain ran into his eyes.

He cleared his throat once more and spat before he spoke, "how you doing handsome?" as he winked at Cas, but all he got in return was a sassy glare.

Jack never understood why he always took everything so seriously. Being immortal you can never lose, really, you always know something is going to be alright in the end. Castiel never understood how his equally trenchcoated friend was always so relaxed; he had learnt that there are always consequences and losses. That is the plague of human life. This is why he fell in love with Jack: "the man who can never die", as he put it, because he will always be there for him throughout eternity, both fighting through the trauma of the constant loss of mortal beings.

Moonlight reflecting off of metal flashed across his eyes, bringing him back to reality and the situation unfolding before him. He noticed the transformation of the expression on Jack's face; it was an unusual one, one he had never or maybe very rarely ever seen: ultimate fear. He had gone pale, Cas hoped it was just the excess loss of blood to shake off his thought of utter terror. The cheeky grin and vitality had vanished as he noted the shuffling of his feet: he was trying to escape, to back away and avoid whatever our villain was doing. The angel looked across to see the suited man smiling smugly at Cas, playing with the weapon in his hand.

"Cas?!" Jack called helpless and concerned.

Castiel went cold, 'it can't be', he thought, 'it's been lost for centuries. How can it still exist?' He began to wriggle too as the man approached him slowly, every crunch of gravel more tedious than the last.

"Hey!" Jack yelled, rage bright in his eyes, all pain was gone now as he forgot about himself and only thought about his angel, "don't you dare touch him!" His jaw clenched; a new surge of energy had been released as he fought harder against the restraints, but it was still no use.

Harkness' heart tore as he saw his angel letting go. The puppy eyes were out and welling up; he felt helpless as he saw fear strike his baby while this bastard slowly stroked Cas's face with the pistol. In a few days he was planning on popping the question, intending to spend eternity together. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect "until death do us part" to actually apply to them.

The monster leaned towards Cas, cheeks almost touching, Jack's internal fury screamed, 'if he kisses him, I swear to God...'

The posh almost seductive British accent began, "I understand that you and your boyfriend over there know what this is..."

Up close Cas was now able to fully see the significant markings engraved into the pistol that was millimetres away from his face. He swallowed and straighten himself up, with full confidence he said "yes" without breaking eye contact.

"Good good," he replied snarling, "well then, you know that The Colt has the ability to kill absolutely any-"

"Hey!" He span round, looking pissed at being rudely interrupted in his dramatic speech. "Yeah you, Assbutt! You hear me! Don't you dare touch him!"

"Oh, don't you worry," he said grinning while checking the bullets in the loaded gun, "I won't touch him."

The next moments felt like they played in slow motion. The gun was raised. A shot was fired. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the scene was lit up for a second as lightening cracked from behind. Castiel let out a heart-wrenching cry, his face shook and eyes filled with tears of fury and pain, but all he could hear was Jack plummeting to the ground. The villain cackled then disappeared instantly with his sidekicks. The angel ran over to his lover's body and skidded to a halt, kneeling beside him in the puddle of blood and rain. Cas tentatively rolled the Captain over to cradle him in his arms, his head rolling lifelessly with the movement revealing his gorgeous face which was void of all expression. He held onto his hand and put it to the hole in his chest, blood pouring out over both of them.

But he was too late.

The puddles surrounding them darkened as blood ran from Harkness' mouth and joined the rain down his cheek. Cas pulled the body close to his own as if to share his heartbeat, rocking back and forth and whispering Jack's name every so often, hoping that somehow Jack would wake up again like he always did. Tears were lost amongst the rain as they rolled down his cheeks, realising the futility of his hope. He rubbed his face with his bloodied sleeve to clear his eyes, oblivious to the smear of red it left, and let out of breath of air, looking down at the face he loves, lip trembling. He ran his thumb along Jack's lips and cheek and pressed his mouth against them, holding it there for what felt like forever, eyes shut tight to hold back pain. After composing himself he stood up, carrying the limp body in his arms like a newly wedded bride, his coat tail draping down, fluttering in the wind. The moist hand he had just let go of rested on his chest then slid off with the motion of rising; it hung loosely down with the other, swinging lifelessly with every step. Cas stared forwards, letting the tears run uncontrollably, avoiding looking down at Jack whose head had fallen back for the last time. He walked off into the darkness, using only the random flashes of lightning to show him the way back.

 **A/N: I hope you liked it! Please keep reading if you enjoyed it! I've planned 8 chapters and they're not that long, so hopefully I should upload it all pretty quickly. Feel free to tell me what you think. x**

 **I had comments about the bad guy. I don't know who it is, which I guess is bad, but it wasn't my focus for the story, I just needed to set up the scenario I wanted to write about. I just want to write about Jack's immortality and his relationship with Castiel. Apologies! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Sorry it** **took** **so long for the next chapter! Hope you are enjoying it or continue reading!**

Chapter 2

Jack sat up abruptly with a long sharp gasp. He panted, eyes wide and confused as he took in his surroundings. He winced, putting his hands to his chest and looked down at his once white shirt.

"So much for being able to kill anything," he said to himself and chuckled, "I'm the man who can never die..."

Slowly and painfully he got himself to his feet, leaning against a tree for balance; he noticed that his coat was soaked through with what seemed like rain, which he found strange because the ground around him was coated in a layer of crisp dry leaves.

Jack frowned and stared into the dark woods that he found himself to be in, "Cas?" he called out quietly to the emptiness, "where have you abandoned me this time you bastard?" he muttered this to himself again.

Jack would have preferred to have Castiel with him or at least some form of company. Isolation brought back bad memories of the times he had been trapped at the end of the world, dying over and over…so alone. Thank God for The Doctor though; always coming to the rescue... but at least this was better than being stuck with some other monsters. It's surprising how long a weevil can last in the sewers and how confident they become once all life on Earth, bar Jack, is gone. With this thought he patted his sides and then frantically checked his pockets.

His guns were gone.

Rolling his eyes and dragging his hand down his face he yelled, "for God's sakes Cas!" But his cry just disappeared into the dark silence.

Then his eyes widened, he checked his wrist. Nothing. His precious time vortex manipulator was gone as well. He held his breath. Thoughts of being trapped and alone came flooding back.

"Castiel! If this is one of your stupid little jokes, I..." He stopped, not knowing what he would do and just stared blankly. "Oh God..." he whispered, running his hand through his hair again and forcing himself to breath rhythmically.

'What to do? What to do?' He thought.

Sighing and frustrated he began to walk, he couldn't just stand there. Well he could, but that would be no fun. This sort of thing had happened to him before and it always worked out. Captain Jack Harkness, always the optimist. He walked carefully, clutching his wound, surprised it wasn't healing quicker; he blamed the special, but apparently not so special Colt bullet for affecting things.

The wood was curious. It wasn't lovely or safe feeling, like a cute fairy-tale, but also not completely creepy or dangerous like, well, other fairy-tale woods. It was somewhere in-between somehow and almost familiar... Then he was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of water, he turned to face it and was blinded by a glowing light. He raised his hand to protect his eyes, but then slowly lowered it again; he light didn't hurt, it was warm and welcoming, unconsciously drawing him in.

Castiel had watched over Jack non-stop, shifting constantly around to different areas of the room, restless with concern. At this moment he was sat on the uncomfortable foldable plastic chair, not too far but not too close to the bed. His head was hanging low, balanced on his out stretched arms that rested on his knees, his hands clasped.

He wasn't sleeping. He would not sleep. He was thinking hard. The angel would not stop until he had found a way to save his friend. Obviously he had tried healing and resurrecting him himself, but there was some barrier, something holding him back.

Of course he blamed himself this, but he knew it was out of his control. He had tried calling Sam and Dean, but they weren't answering and were most likely too busy. He had even tried The Doctor, despite how much he disagreed with him, but between all the crackling he heard something about space and dimensions and "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" stuff before he was cut off. All Cas understood was that there was some sort of bad signal. He struggled with these sorts of things at the best of times and The Doctor's nonsense didn't help. He wasn't in the mood for it. He understood that The Doctor hadn't heard well, but he knew he would have done whatever he could to save him, surely; the fact that he hadn't just angered Cas more.

After rethinking these things, he stood up slowly, sighing as he went. His eyes were heavy and defeated from lack of sleep and endless tears, they stared blankly towards the wall above the bed where the body lay.

"One more time..." he murmured to himself, looking up at the grey ceiling with his glistening eyes as he walked across the room. Then he tilted his head down, glazing over what was before him: Jack's body lying cold and still on the bed, his face staring up pale and grey, that famous everlasting vitality gone. He reached over and clasped the rigid hands, putting them to his lips as he knelt down. Resting his head against the body, making sure to avoid the blood, he began to mutter with heart wrenching force in his gruff whisper.

"Father... Please! I know you can hear me. But why do you keep ignoring me?" He sniffled and cleared his throat, "I love him. Why won't you save him?!"

He waited silently for a moment then opened one eye and peered, hoping to find Jack sat up looking as bright and cheery as usual. Letting out of breath, he gracefully sank back and curled up, resting his head upon his knees.

Despite being something so big and so powerful, he'd never felt so small and alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! Finally uploading another chapter. Do enjoy!**

The light had faded, but Jack still wandered blindly towards it. He eventually reached a lake and found a man stood on one of the large rocks looking out across the expanse of water.

Jack stepped cautiously towards the figure then stopped, "Chuck?" he said with surprise and confusion. The bearded man looked over his shoulder and pulled a false smile.

"Jack," he stepped off the rock and approached him. They shook hands; finding a friendly face cheered the Captain up, but Chuck was shifty, he looked uncomfortable and was unable to keep eye contact. The joy and relief died from the reunion so quickly.

Jack looked concerned, "what's wrong?"

Chuck was almost startled, his eyes darted about, "well," he began.

Jack stared intently, almost frustrated, "what?" His eyes widened and he grabbed the man, "is it Cas?! Is he ok?"

They made eye contact again, "no no! Cas... Cas is fine. Yes," was the flustered response. Jack wondered why the almighty God, was so shaken and nervous.

"It's just...er..." he rubbed his hand across the back of his neck as he looked to the ground, "there's no easy way to put this." Jack fixed his stare on him, waiting expectantly. Then Chuck suddenly straightened himself up and looked him in the face, placing a hand on the immortal's shoulder and said it:

"You're dead Jack. Like dead dead. For real this time."

Jack's eyes widened with disbelief, he was taken aback and stumbled uncertainly away.

"So, the Colt did work..." he said quietly as he crouched down to perch on a nearby rock. Chuck noted that Jack took the same pose as Cas had earlier: bowing his head, letting his elbows rest on his knees with his hands hanging out before him. Realising how similar these immortal men were and how perfect they were for each other, Chuck felt sympathy.

"Jack..." he said as he calmly approached. He sat up, dragging his hand down his face to wipe away tears, then ran it through his hair thoughtfully.

"But what I don't understand is that if I'm..." he sniffed and cleared his throat, "if I'm dead," he raised an eyebrow and stood up slowly to be face to face with the God. "If I'm dead, how can I still be bleeding? How can I still be in pain?"

"Well, that's the thing. I'm not too sure," he replied rather honestly. "I put it down to you being your own unique individual. You don't belong to this universe, do you? You don't belong in the afterlife either. You defy all rules of human nature!" Chuck let out a little excited laugh and smiled in amazement and curiosity, but Jack wasn't laughing for once. Noticing this and the inappropriateness of his positivity, the God dropped the toothy grin and got back on track.

"So, something, some part of your physical being and a strong connection to Earth is pulling your back. You will never be able to let go." This made Jack smile, his own physical arrogance keeping him alive. He was no longer mad but almost impressed and proud.

"So..." Chuck clapped his hands together and held them there, putting the united points of his fingers to his lips in a thoughtful way. Harkness was drawn back to the point in hand once more by the abrupt sound.

"I thought I better come down and talk to you about your situation," pointing his fingertips at Jack who listened patiently when he said "you", and then returned them to his lips.

"I can help you move on to the next life, get you up into heaven," he said calmly, smiling politely and still thinking things through.

Jack jumped in, "or...?" smiling cheekily, digging for the other option.

Chuck sighed, "or..." he continued, "I could try resurrecting you." He turned around to look over the lake again. "You don't belong here. And due to constant demand," he rolled his eyes and tried to hide a little smile, "I feel obliged to help you out."

Jack gasped, a toothy grin formed from ear to ear, "Cas!" The little excitement caused him to choke a bit and clutch his chest in pain, he looked down at his hand that was covered in blood.

Seemingly oblivious, Chuck turned back round, "right!" he said, grabbing both or Jack's shoulders. "Now, I can't make any promises, ok? I'm not sure how this is going to go myself."

"Ok..." was all Jack could respond with; slow, cautious and suspicious.

"First of all, I don't know if this will actually work," eyebrows were raised as Chuck looked guiltily away, as if he was still working things out, but he sprang back positively on track. "But I'm pretty sure it will work. I just have to warn you. Also, I don't know what state you're going to be in when you wake up, or how painful the transition will be or whether you'll be your old immortal self again or... human or..." he mumbled on, biting his lip.

Jack cut him off, "Chuck, Chuck," they were face to face again, they smiled, "just do your best."

"Alright." Placing his hands gently on the dying man's neck, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back a little.

Jack began to ache; his eyes were heavy and the sudden weakness in his knees was making it harder to stand. He couldn't keep track of the world around him as it seemed to start spinning, getting faster and faster, the wind whipping at his face and making his coat flap in the wind. Everything was a blur and he could no longer see Chuck, but if it wasn't for his hands on his neck the strong winds and dizziness would have knocked him to the ground.

As Jack started struggling to breathe he felt the hands let go, his eyes widening in fear of losing support and then the realisation of falling forwards. He couldn't move or do anything, he just had to let himself plummet.

The moment he hit the ground he woke up with an enormous intake of breath, finding himself lying on a bed staring up at a grey ceiling, but still feeling like he had face planted the floor.

He was shaken up, scrabbling on the bed with wide eyes at the sudden change in environment.

'What was going on? Where was he now?' so many thoughts flew round his head, but all he could think to do was yell out noises of fear and pain which echoed round the room as he choked on the metallic taste in his mouth.

Cas's head shot up in surprise and joy, he whispered Jack's name in disbelief at first and then shouted it as he fumbled over to the bed as quickly as he could. Harkness was shocked to see his angel peer over him, but was overwhelmed with relief to be home and safe once again.

"You son of a bitch…it worked," Cas whispered as he looked his boyfriend up and down, he couldn't help but say a shocked "fuck me" under his breath when noticing how is chest still bled. Seeing him in so much pain hurt him, especially as he was unable to heal him.

"Maybe later, hey Cas?" Jack winked, the weak pale face had its vitality back, the angel gave him a stern glare. He tried to maintain the smile through the pain as he attempted to sit up. Struggling, he rearranged the pillows and when finally satisfied he tipped his head back, leaning it against the cold wall. Eyes tightly shut, he let out the breath he was holding and relaxed his tensed muscles. He had never been in pain like this before.

Cas stared on in anticipation, "so...?" he began quizzically, "how did you do it?" His voice held a tone similar to that of a concerned mother telling off a child. Jack was confused as to how or why he was in trouble but didn't care that much, he just thought this form of his baby was adorable.

"Well," he started slowly, wincing and gritting his teeth as he discovered how painful it was to talk, but he managed to continue, "mostly thanks to you," he could feel Castiel blushing, "and I had a little chat with your Daddy." He opened one eye to glance at Cas, who was now no longer blushing but speechless. Jack smiled smugly, shut his eye again and put his hands behind his head in a casual manner. "Or should I say Daddy-in-law...?"

He waited for the reaction, "you didn't!"

"Oh yes I did!"

"Well?" he took a few steps closer to where Jack sat up.

"He recognised how perfect we are for each other. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now and -" but before he could finish Cas was on the bed, straddling Jack. He put a hand on either side of his head and smothered him with a kiss. Jack removed his hands from behind his head, putting them on Cas's cheeks and returned with passionate kissing, wincing at the strain to breathe and the weight on top of him, but at this moment he really didn't care. They were both so happy to be back together.

Then Cas realised something was wrong when the hands fell from his face; he stopped and looked down at his lover whose head was slowly sinking to the side as he grew weaker and was losing consciousness again.

"Jack?!" The angel gently shook the increasingly limp body.

Jack's eyelids fluttered as he lost focus of what was around him. Just before the darkness crept in and swallowed up his vision, a loud ringing filled his ears. He watched silently as his husband-to-be sat up with wide terror-stricken eyes and desperately tried to keep him awake. He could see him mouthing his name, oh what he'd give to hear the soothing tones of the angel's voice in that moment.

Then everything faded into nothing and Cas was left all alone once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Hope you're still reading and enjoying! A bit of Sam and Dean for you here now. :)**

Sam and Dean sat down and slammed the Impala doors shut in unison, ready to head back to the bunker and have a well-earned rest. The engine growled as Dean drove away; he watched the small town they had just saved disappear into the distance in his mirrors. He was in the zone now, head nodding and fingers tapping the wheel as he immersed himself into his music which drummed out of the speakers Understanding his brothers desire for peace, Sam sank down in his seat and basked in the sun, his hair fluttered in the breeze that flew through the open window. He closed his eyes, hoping for a couple of minutes rest along the journey home, only peering across at the driver every so often whenever he sang a random lyric; he found it more reassuring than annoying.

Just as Sam had finally got comfortable they passed the sign that had welcomed them into the town and their cell phones regained service, causing the younger brother to be rudely disturbed, jolting up in surprise at the vibration and tinny sounds made. Dean furrowed his brow and rummaged in his jean pocket while keeping his eyes on the road, then chucked his phone to the side, making Sam juggle to catch it. When he eventually settled he looked across and huffed at his older brother who was quietly chuckling, shaking his head as he proceeded to look at the mobiles.

His smile faded, "huh," a puzzled expression covered his face.

Dean rolled his eyes, "what?!"

"They're all missed calls and... they're all from Cas."

They exchanged a slightly concerned look, then Dean chuckled, "yeah well, you know Cas, he's probably just struggling with the toaster or something stupid," and returned his focus to the road, smiling as he pictured his friend being lost with the kitchen technology.

"11 missed calls?" The younger brother raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "for a toaster?"

The mobile beeped with every tap as Sam examined them further, "they're all fairly new, err..." He stooped over and squinted to avoid the sun glaring off the screen, "the earliest one was only 4 hours ago and the most recent waaas," he stretched the last word as he tapped on the phone to find the answer, he frowned, "about half an hour ago."

Sam selected the first voice message and put the phone to his ear, he stared out the window at the world rushing by. The beep sounded then heavy breathing came on the line, there was an audible gulp, then Cas's voice, erratic and gruffer than usual, "Sam, it's Cas. Please pick up. I-" more panicked breathing, "I need your help. Urgently. Please call back." It hung up suddenly.

The next message played, similar to the first, but angrier and more desperate. But in the third Cas had deteriorated drastically, he sounded as though he was struggling physically and emotionally, "Sam, please! It's Jack... He's-," he broke down into an ugly childlike sob. Before it abruptly ended again, Sam had managed to hear Cas weakly whimper "he's... dead."

The next message played as depressing as the one before, and so did the one after that.

"Why won't either of you answer your damn phones!"

Gasps of air were violently taken in, each sounding so painful, "I need you! Where are you?!"

His voice was so shaky and broken that Sam could almost feel Cas' lip trembling, "I...I love him!"

His sunflower eyes glistened in the sunshine then his sniffling drew Dean's attention.

"Hey, hey!" He reached across, putting a hand on his baby brother's shoulder, "what's up?"

Sam ran his sleeve along his nose and wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat, "er, here," he handed his brother his phone without looking up, "you should listen to them," assuming his missed calls would contain similar messages, then he just gazed out the window again, letting everything peacefully wash over him. Dean pressed play on the first messages and went through the same journey Sam had just experienced, hearing Cas' desperate wails and breathy sobs, putting them through the traumatic morning he'd had. They didn't have to look at each other to know they were both blurry eyed with the sadness of their friend's loss and the guilt for not being there for him when he had needed them most.

Before they had the chance to think about how to react next, Dean's phone rang. Surprised, he tossed it to Sam again, who was still unprepared for this action and unimpressed by it.

His face lit up, "it's Cas," he answered immediately. The driver lent across towards the passenger in a hope to catch the conversation, but all he could hear was tinny rambling nonsense.

"Cas, Cas! Calm down. We're here. What is it?" A pause then a shocked but relieved, "what?!" Another pause. Dean was in suspense, then noticed Sam wiping his eyes again.

"Ok Cas, ok, yup. We're on our way. Err..." He peered across to see the time and the speed Baby was going. "-yup, we'll be there in 15 minutes."

Then Dean put his foot down, the guilt of being absent was eating him up inside, "hey Cas," he yelled, hoping that his voice reached the phone and travelled along the line, "make that 10 minutes, alright?" He grinned and looked up at Sam, who was now uneasy from the sudden increase in speed, "we're coming for you buddy." Then he sat back up to control his chaotic driving.

Perplexed, Sam returned to the call, "Cas? Just hold on... We're coming as fast as we can!" Then hung up. He sighed, rubbing his face with his huge hand and putting the phone away, then sank back into his seat.

"So?!" Dean was frustrated from not knowing what was going on, "what happened? Where we headed?!"

"Oh, err," he cleared his throat, "he's alive again. We're going to the hospital."

"What!?" Dean rolled his eyes, "that man just doesn't know how to die, does he?"

They smirked as they recalled how many times they had escaped death themselves.


	5. Chapter 5

After navigating their way around the hospital, the Winchesters peered through the blinds in the window of the room where their friends were. They caught glimpses of Cas staring intently at Jack lying on the bed next to him, holding tightly onto his hand as if he would never let go. They entered as quietly as they could hoping not to disturb the peaceful scene, but the angel didn't even notice them come in at all he was so focused on watching over his loved one.

Dean walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "hey Cas," putting on a weak supportive smile.

He shot up in surprise from being awoken from his daydream, but was relieved to see his old friends again, "hello Dean…" then looked up a little further, "Sam."

"Hey Cas," he tried to smile but failed.

Cas pulled them both in for a group hug, one brother on either side. They peered over his shoulders at the state of Jack: pale as a ghost and connected by so many wires and tubes to whatever was necessary in keeping him alive. They'd never seen him in such a bad condition before; of course he had been in some pretty nasty situations, but he was always so lively and dismissive of any injuries or pain, the boys respected him for this.

Seeing him like this meant they couldn't begin to imagine how much trauma Castiel was going through, having to see someone supposedly so secure in his life suddenly so unstable. It brought back painful memories of when they almost lost Cas forever, remembering how unbearable the thought of life without him was going to be.

One last squeeze, then the hug broke up with a united sigh and he shuffled away to return to Jack once again, the brothers followed him over.

Sam made the first attempt at conversation, "so, err, how's he doing?"

His forehead wrinkling with concern as he glanced down at all the apparatus assisting him. Red tubes and clear tubes went in and out all over his body, Sam noted the rather uncomfortably large pipe in Jack's mouth that went down his throat forcing him to breathe.

"Well, I don't really know what's going to happen... Not sure if he's immortal still or not or what. But, " he began bluntly. He took a deep breath, his adorable wide puppy eyes staring up at the brothers, "the doctors said they were surprised he was even alive, but I guess that's expected, because, well you know. They said he was very lucky, any further and the bullet would have definitely killed him, but I put that down to the fact that he's already come back once already..."

He seemed to drift off, lost in his own world as he looked down at Jack again, then returned suddenly, "he's stable, for the moment, but they urgently need to take him back into surgery to finish what they started earlier. We just have to wait for their best surgeon to come in. They don't expect him to wake up any time soon as they've put him in a coma due to his serious condition." He smiled down at Jack and stroked his face. "But I think it's all going to be ok."

Dean let out a breath and fell back into a seat, rubbing his face with his hand. After a moment he looked across at Cas, seeming cautious in what he was about to say, "and... you've tried healing him yourself...?"

The angel's calm smile instantly disappeared as he turned to give him a sassy glare, almost yelling back, "you really think we'd be here if I hadn't tried that!" There was a tone of anger and betrayal in his voice, but he knew inside that Dean didn't mean to offend and that he was just concerned. When he dropped the stare, Dean felt the tension ease off and released his breath with a shocked expression.

Then Cas sighed and spoke to Sam, the apparently more logical and sympathetic brother in the moment, "we think it's the bullet, it was from the Colt. Must be stopping me and him from healing it fully, although I don't understand why it still won't let me heal him... I guess we just have to wait. I don't know how you humans do it. You're so fragile." The younger Winchester smirked at the angel's genuine curiosity as he joined his brother on a seat.

The next half hour felt like days. They each shuffled around the room, uneasy with waiting, taking it in turns to pop out to stretch their legs and get coffees. Every so often a nurse would come in to check on the patient, and as always it was "all good, he's staying strong." Each time they heard, "can't be long now, the surgeon should be here soon," and each time Cas nodded politely, but it was clear he was hiding his frustration and impatience. He was a being of so much power but incapable of doing anything to help, he felt useless and miserable.

Sam returned from his turn collecting drinks to find Cas still sat beside the bed and Dean asleep in the chair with a magazine lying across his chest. He put a coffee on the table next to his friend who looked up and smiled weakly to thank him, then he sat down and began to flick through one of the magazines he hadn't read yet.

Suddenly there was a loud commotion as Jack sat bolt upright and instantly began to struggle for air; he fell back down on the sheets and began jerking with convulsions and spasms as he choked on the tube in this throat, fighting for breath. Everyone was in shock; Dean had jolted awake when the silence was abruptly broken and Sam was already up and at the bedside ready to help out. There were restricted gasps and gargling noises mixed with panicked beeping from the medical equipment as Harkness's heart raced while he rolled around desperately on the bed, unable to communicate or help himself, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"Hang on Jack. We've got you. It's gonna be ok."

The men wrestled the equipment off of his face and pulled out the tube. An enormous rough intake of air filled his lungs, which was followed by a mix of spluttering, yelling and more intense gasps. They turned into calmer heavy breaths of relief when he was greeted by supportive hands and familiar faces settling him down and making him feel safe again. His eyes were tight shut from sudden immense pain and he gripped onto Cas' hand.

After a moment he surprisingly smiled and breathlessly whispered a relieved "fuck me."

The angel saw his opportunity; he bent down, placing his face beside Jack's and replied in his ear, "maybe later, hey Jack?"

Wincing, he let out a restricted laugh. The brothers gave each other a look; they hadn't heard what they'd said but decided they didn't want to know. Jack slowly hoisted himself up and began to unplug himself from the wires and machines as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

Breathless again he said through clenched teeth, "so..."

Dean jumped in, "woah woah woah!" He laughed, "where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think?" He scoffed back, "I'm outta here!"

Then Sam tried, shocked by the attitude. He knew how Jack was, but this time seemed serious, "but, what about your surgery?! They're clearly not done with you."

"Look," he winced as he swivelled round to face the taller brother a bit more, "I've just woken up from a coma that I should have been in for a few days at least. I actually died, apparently for real this time, and came back, and it's not even like I haven't done that before! I've been in much worse states than this, trust me. Lastly, and most importantly, I can't stand hospitals."

Dean laughed to himself, impressed by this guy's confidence and humour in such a dire situation.

"Come on Sammy," he hit his younger brother on the back, "I think it's about time we got outta here then."

They gathered up their stuff, including Jack's clothes, more dressings and some extra painkillers, then Cas zapped them all back to where the Impala was parked. Dean drove back to the bunker with Sam up front with him, while Jack lay asleep across the backseats, his head in the lap of his angel who watched over him the whole way back, occasionally stroking his face, relieved that everything seemed to be going alright again.

 **A/N: I almost ended the story here, but couldn't resist to write a little more! XD**


	6. Chapter 6

For the first few days Jack rested, lying in bed and drifting in and out of consciousness, with Cas always never too far out of reach. After a while Jack became restless and frustrated, bored of being the helpless one; he wanted to be up and about, at least helping out around the bunker if he wasn't able to join hunts. The angel was very strict with him, not wanting to take any risks as it was clear he hadn't fully healed yet and was still in pain, but he also sensed something more, something wrong in Jack's uneasiness.

One evening when they were alone together in the bunker, Cas entered the kitchen area surprised to find Jack who must have snuck out of bed behind the commotion of the Winchesters leaving. He stood in the doorway for a moment before quietly entering, silently observing as the other man hummed quietly while washing up, peaceful and oblivious to his existence. Then putting his hands on his hips Cas gently coughed, raising an eyebrow and glaring at his partner who had whipped around terrified by the unexpected presence behind him. The Captain let out a breath and put his bubbly hand to his chest feeling his heart pound, but he soon began to smile.

Cas saw this as his chance to confront him on what was bothering him, "Jack," their eyes met, "I know there's something you're not telling me. What's wrong?"

He replied with a nervous laugh, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine." He looked at the ground, "just sick of being trapped in that room and taking ages to heal I guess." Then he smiled and added dramatically, "ugh the agony!"

He seemed sensitive and protective behind his fake smile, as if he was holding something back but hiding it behind his façade of humour. Once again, he was unable to take anything seriously, then Jack turned back to finish washing the dishes. Cas approached him and leant his back against the surface next to him, putting both hands on the counter and sticking his legs out crossed over each other. He stared down at his feet rather than Jack who stayed focused on the bubbles.

"Please Jack. I only want to help you, because I don't want to lose you again, because... I love you."

Jack raised his head and stared at the ceiling, letting out a sigh.

Cas looked up at him at last, "why were you so scared?"

Jack turned around, mimicking Cas's resting position, staring blankly out into the room and finally let everything out, "I don't want to sleep because I can't. Every time I close my eyes I feel like I'm... lost and absent. And every time I wake up I come back to reality, but it still doesn't feel real somehow. I feel terrified, out of breath and my heart pounds, but I don't know why, I don't remember anything… just this pain in my chest."

With this, Cas stood up, pulling his Captain in close and hugging him tight, their heads resting on the other's shoulder. Then he loosened his grip and placed a hand on either shoulder, looking into Jack's eyes.

"Let me help you."

Jack blinked slowly, and tried to smile, a single tear rolled down his cheek which Cas wiped away with his thumb.

Jack lay flat on the bed gazing up at Cas who stood beside him and held onto his hand tightly.

"Are you ready?" The soothing gruff voice asked tentatively, and a gentle nod was given in response clearly due to nerves.

"Just remember to relax," Harkness closed his eyes and let out a breath.

Cas placed his other hand onto his forehead and tipped his own head back with his eyes closed. Jack's eyes shot open as he gasped and gripped the bed, then almost immediately shut them again and there was silence in the room.

The immortal was suddenly awake again, as if thrown back into life but somewhere else. He jolted up from the cold ground, yelling and breathless from shock. It was cool and dark, and only the moonlight shone through the leaves and branches above him. He tried to pull himself up onto his feet, the pain in his chest and his shadowy environment holding him back. As he stumbled searching for balance and more light, he heard the leaves beneath his feet rustle in the silence. Jack pulled up his sleeve, hoping to check his trusty vortex manipulator to give him a clue as to where he was. However the little nagging doubt in his mind became full panic as his worst fear became reality. Once again, his arm was bare.

No vortex manipulator.

No gun.

The stumbling man could feel his shirt getting damper and heavier; he glanced down to see his once white shirt appear black in the night. Jack wasn't sure whether the sudden chill that washed over him was fear or his loss of blood. Just as he thought he may faint his ears pricked up and his senses sharpened when he heard movement from behind. Very slowly he peered over his shoulder to see nothing, just emptiness and the night. This absence did not make him feel any better than if he had seen something. A sound of motion again but this time in front of him; he turned his head to face more trees and darkness. Any other time Jack would have been more chilled; he could take on anything, and if not he knew he'd who just wake up later in pain after defeat. But he was different now, he was mortal here and somehow missing his vital equipment.

Suddenly he heard them approaching slowly, snapping him out of his thoughts. When they began to growl he realised it was time to get moving. Clutching his chest he began to sprint as fast as he could into the hopefully safe direction, trying to dodge trees as well as escape the ever approaching beasts coming after him. Jack ran for as long as he could, shocked by how long he managed to stay free, fuelled only by the adrenaline of dread as he knew the rest of his body was dying. Lack of energy and oxygen bit at his throat and as he thought he could run no more he reached the lake. The same lake as when he was first here. The realisation of where he was now and where he had been every night since made him lose track of his running; he tripped over the rocks and fell hard onto his front but managed to ignore the impact and scrabbled on over the pebbles towards the water, following the subconscious urge to submerge himself. Just as he got so close to the water's edge, he let out a cry as a sharp pain shot up his leg. The beast bit down on his ankle and tried to drag him away, but Jack fought on, hauling himself forwards and trying to kick with his other good leg. When his fingers felt the coolness of the lake he plunged his face into the water producing a death-defying cry of triumph, pain and fear.

The screaming, yelling and panic continued as he was torn from that world and tossed back into reality, finding himself sat up on the bed again, body drenched and ankle chewed up. This immense resurrection burst all the bulbs and threw Cas across the room where he hit the wall and fell to the floor and sat dazed. When he managed to pull himself up and get his head around what had just happened, he ran over to the still restless man on the bed. He pulled him close to try to soothe him, fighting against his struggling and muffling the shrieks with his trench coat. The warmth of his angel and familiar smell calmed Jack down, then he fell back down onto the bed wincing and panting.

The Winchesters had been alerted by the commotion and burst into the room; they had only got back a few minutes earlier and had tried their best to be as quiet as possible due to the silence that filled the bunker, expecting Jack to be asleep at last. They were shocked to find him moaning and wriggling on the bed, clutching his chest and choking on blood again with an overly concerned Cas at his side.

The angel turned to the boys giving them a look of fear and desperation, "we've got to take a look at it." Sam put his lips tight together, gulping and nodded understandingly.

They gathered round and holding Jack down they tore open his shirt and looked into the hot red wet mess of his chest.

The immortal, after having relaxed a little, also craned his neck in an attempt to peer down at himself, "how bad is it?" he said as his neck folded to give him multiple chins, at any other time Dean would have found this hilarious.

Sam and Cas squinted, trying to understand, whereas Dean had already taken a few steps back, but still tried to look interested from behind his taller brother.

Sam began puzzled, "it looks like the bullet's still in there..." He looked up and made eye contact with the angel. "We need to get you to a hospital," he pulled out his phone and began dialling.

"Wait," a weak voice croaked from low down, "I've got this..."

Jack shuffled himself to sit up a bit, clenching his jaw to block out the pain, then raised a hand above his chest.

He looked up at the men around him who stared on in curiosity and anticipation, "this isn't for the faint-hearted, you might want to look away now."

His eyes shut tight and he gritted his teeth, then proceeded to put his hand inside his own open wound and rummaged around for the bullet.

"Oh my God," Dean turned around and almost walked out the room, but stopped to lean on the door frame, making gagging noises as he went.

Sam put his fist to his mouth; he didn't dare try to persuade Jack to stop in fear of speaking and then seeing the burger he ate not that long ago again. However Jack's willingness to do this did not surprise him, this gave them hope as it seemed like the old Captain Jack Harkness was coming back: bold, reckless and unstoppable.

Just as Cas started, "Jack please. Stop. Let me..." the immortal raised his bloodied hand triumphantly with an "ah-ha!" cutting off his friend mid speech.

He held up the famous remaining Colt bullet, its glinting silver and red drawing everyone's attention, while more thick crimson liquid ran down his wrist.

His arm wavered as his eyes lost focus, then he slurred proudly, "I think I got it," and passed out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Last Chapter! A short one I know, but a nice round off I hope.**

After having finally removed the bullet, Jack rested for the night and was fully healed the next day except for some scarring which would be gone in a few days. Castiel had been his usual strict and protective self, keeping Jack's activities to a minimum and being on constant surveillance, just in case anything happened again. By now a week had passed and Jack was still as fine as the morning he had woken up, he had managed to convince his 'bodyguard', after many final checks, to take a break. Cas had agreed and went out with the Winchesters for a couple of hours, leaving Jack fully alone for the first time in a while; he was nervous, but knew in his heart that his Captain would be fine. All the time he was absent he was worrying, but managed to refrain from calling.

When they arrived back at the bunker, the angel hurried in to find his patient. As he scampered down the stairs he called out for him, "Jack," starting off calm, but when no response was heard he cried louder with more desperation, "Jack!... Jack?" As he rushed in and out of rooms, calling in every doorway, "JACK!", searching in fear of what he might find, hoping to God that everything was alright.

"JA-" He stopped in his tracks as his eyes locked onto Jack's feet sticking out from behind a table. He ran over preparing for the worst, but when he turned the corner he skidded to a halt, his heart skipped a beat or two as he held his breath in shock, feeling both relief and anger.

There in front of him was the immortal, absolutely fine with the biggest, smuggest toothy grin pulled across his handsome face, crouched down with his hands extended out in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, Cas pulled his adorable confused face as he didn't immediately grasp this human action.

Jack couldn't quite tell whether he was legitimately lost or playfully acting naive to get revenge after being tricked, but he rolled his eyes at him, "you really do know how to ruin a moment don't you," he laughed a little and straightened himself up again.

He coughed, clearing his throat and seemingly bringing a new seriousness to the air, he peered up at his angel who equally peered down at him. Then as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, sharing a bond that only people cursed with immortality could share.

He said in a low soothing tone "... I'm down on one knee Cas," he opened the small box in his hands to reveal a shiny silver ring, "will you do the honour of making me the happiest man on Earth? Spending the rest of eternity with me? And loving me for the rest of time?... Cas..." Harkness glanced down, the angel noticed him fiddling with the box nervously, which was an unusual behaviour for him; it came across as sincerity and devotion, as for once something wasn't a joke.

Jack, still waiting for some sort of reaction, continued with his speech hoping Cas had got the message, "will you m-"

Just as he looked back up to reconnect with those gorgeous deep blue eyes mid question to plead for an answer, he was stopped by the soft gentle lips of an angel planted on his own. Then Castiel put his hands on his cheeks and pulled away, staring deeply into his soul with his ancient eyes, "of course I will Jack," the corners of his mouth pulled to create a small innocent smile. Jack took Cas's left hand and brought it up to eye level where he carefully slid the ring onto his finger.

The angel furrowed his brow again in puzzlement, "when did you...? How did...?" clearly forgetting about the immortal's ability to travel through time and space with his vortex manipulator.

Jack chuckled and tapped his wrist, "I visited an old friend. Popped out for less than a second while you were gone. Best jewellers in the galaxy."

Castiel held his hand up to examine the ring just like he'd seen women do in the movies after a proposal, he gave it a try out of curiosity as to why they did it. It caught the light and a rush of warmth ran through him, "it's beautiful," he said, seemingly losing control over his own thoughts.

"You know what else?" Harkness began, feeling so pleased and finding it hard to hide his excitement, "can you tell what it's made of?" The ringed hand was brought closer to the angel's scrunched up face and narrowed beady eyes as he analysed the metal. But Jack couldn't control himself, "I held on tight to that bullet Cas."

"The last Colt bullet," the angel replied, looking up and meeting his eyes again, expressing his affection.

Then Jack took his hands, "and now it's yours to hold onto and watch over forever and ever."

 **That's it! That's the end. I hope you enjoyed it and thought it was a satisfactory ending. Thanks :D**

 **A reminder that I do not own any material, all credit goes to the creators of Supernatural, Torchwood and Doctor Who.**


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